Forster fastest in sprint
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ByEurosport
Published 10/09/2006 at 12:50 GMT
German Robert Forster prevailed in a bunch sprint to win stage 15 of the Tour of Spain on Sunday. Australian Stuart O'Grady took second and Italian Danilo Napolitano was third. Spaniard Alejandro Valverde retained his overall lead.
CYCLING Giro 2006 Milan Forster (gerolsteiner)
Image credit: Reuters
The stage proved something of a snooze for much of the field as the peloton wound their way downhill off Spain's central plateau to the coast near Valencia, finishing up at the idiosyncratic destination of a Ford car factory.
With half an eye on next week's Sierra Nevada mountain stages, the riders took the opportunity to kick back and enjoy a Spanish siesta, averaging a relatively pedestrian 41km/h despite the stage's gentle profile.
Relax's Jose Garcia provided what little excitement there was, taking off on an early breakaway with Kjell Carlstrom before the Norwegian fell away to leave the Spaniard out on his own.
Garcia was eventually swallowed up by the pack 15km from home after the best part of four hours out at the front.
All the sprinting heavy hitters jostled for position ahead of a blanket sprint for the line, and it looked like Alessandro Petacchi would signal a welcome return to form as he attacked the front several hundred metres from home.
But the Italian's path was blocked by a combination of other riders and safety barriers, allowing Forster his first Vuelta stage win.
"It was an incredibly tricky last kilometre, a lot of guys had problems with the course," Forster, 28, told reporters.
"I was lucky because of (Gerolsteiner team mate) Rene Haselbacher, who guided me to the front.
"Then I got on Napolitano's wheel and was able to come round him with 150 metres to go."
"We've not had a lot of luck in this year's Tour of Spain, so this is a nice reward for my persistence," added Forster.
"I had an awful first week in the mountains, but just like in the Giro where I won the last stage, I'm getting stronger as time goes on."
Monday sees the riders take another rest as the teams trek down the Mediterranean coast to Almeria, from where they will begin their third-week journey through the mountains towards Madrid.
"The next big challenge is the first mountain stage in Andalucia on Tuesday and after a relatively easy second week that means we're in for a tough change of rhythm," gold jersey Alejandro Valverde told reporters.
"But I'm still in front, and that, at the end of the day, is what matters."
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